Religion and Media 2001 Abstracts
Religion and Media Interest Group
Religiosity and the Third-Person Effect • Guy Golan, University of Florida • During the past decade, the third person effect has emerged as an important area of research in the field of mass communications. The current study provides the first empirical measurement of the influence of religion on the third person effect. The study provides evidence that on moral issues, religiosity is positively associated with perceived media impact on others. The study also provides evidence that on non-moral issues, religiosity is not associated with perceived media impact on self or others.
The Effect of Survey Mode on Responses about Religious Beliefs and Behaviors • Barry A. Hollander, University of Georgia • This study focuses on the effect the mode of a national survey (phone versus personal interview) can have on answers to questions about religious beliefs and behaviors. Mode is found to have little effect on how people answer questions about their religious beliefs and behaviors or on the relationships among religious variables and other variables of interest, including media exposure and trust. The one exception is the self-identification of oneself as a born-again Christian.
Newspaper Coverage of Fundamentalist Christians, 1980-2000 • Peter Kerr, Patricia Moy, University of Washington • In light of evidence indicating that political attitudes are driven in part by attitudes toward fundamentalist Christians (Bolce & de Maio, 1999), this study examines the potential role of media coverage in influencing these attitudes. A content analysis of a probability sample of 2,696 articles drawn from Lexis-Nexis indicates a relatively stable and slightly negative portrayal of fundamentalist Christians over the past two decades. The amount and type of depictions differed by geographical region as well as by type of newspaper article. Also emerging from the data was a trend toward the meshing of religion and politics. Implications of such coverage are discussed.
A Public Interest in Religious Broadcasting: A Case Study of Korean Religious Cable TV • Min Soo Kim, The Seoul Catholic Archdiocese of Korea • no abstract.
Religion and Topoi in the News: An Analysis of the “Unsecular Media” hypothesis • Rick Clifton Moore, Boise State University • Mark Silk has proposed in Unsecular Media that journalists operate with a limited series of topoi and that these are borrowed from religion. Silk thus claims when journalists write about religion, they do so in a very positive manner. In this study, I apply topic analysis to recent news coverage of Jesse Jackson to determine the extent to which the topos of hypocrisy was employed and whether this employment supported or challenged religious values.
Gone Fishin’: A Framing Analysis of the Fight over a Small Town’s City Seal • Mark Paxton, Southwest Missouri State University • This study is a framing analysis of regional and national newspaper, Internet and Associated Press news coverage of the legal dispute over the inclusion of a fish symbol on the city seal in the small town of Republic, MO. Analysis of news articles revealed four frames. First, news reports framed the fish as a Christian symbol, despite supporters’ contentions that it merely represented non-denominational moral values. Second, news reports trivialized the dispute by framing the issue as unimportant. Third, news accounts represented the plaintiff in the lawsuit against the city as a religious outsider because of her Wiccan beliefs. Fourth, news accounts framed the dispute in terms of grassroots support for the fish symbol and outside meddlers opposed to the fish symbol.
Fantasy Theme Analysis in the interplay of Charles M. Sheldon’s In His Steps and his Jesus Newspaper • Michael Smith, Regent University • This article uses fantasy theme analysis to explore the remarkable work of the Rev. Dr. Charles M. Sheldon, a Congregationalist minister. In 1887 Sheldon wrote In His Steps, a best-selling novel, and gained international recognition. This novel depicted ordinary people who were inspired to make decisions by asking themselves, “What would Jesus do?” In the novel, a newspaper editor applied the question to his business and altered his advertising and editorial policies to conform to standards he believed Jesus would practice. In 1900 Sheldon was invited to become that fictional newspaper editor and lead a daily newspaper from March 13 to March 17, 1900. This research examines the way Sheldon’s approach to journalism formed a web of meaning for his audience that reflected his worldview. Using the “What would Jesus do?” question, Sheldon created a rhetorical vision for his readers. The fictional world described in the novel was reproduced in real life as Sheldon’s rhetorical vision spread through his work in the daily newspaper.
‘Where all things are pure and of good report’: The Doctrinal Theology, Religious Practice, and Media Manipulation of the Christian Science Church • Douglas Swanson, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse • The Church of Christ, Scientist, is a 21st century religious movement that is facing considerable challenges to its existence on many fronts. The church is morally hound to the unalterable religious theology of its 19th century founder, Mary Baker Eddy. The church is legally obligated to an intractable management structure Mrs. Eddy proscribed in the church Manual. For more than a century, church leadership has been able to follow Mrs. Eddy’s example and successfully manipulate the media to control dissemination of information about the church’s theology and practice. At the same time, the church has presented a pleasing public image of “rectitude and spiritual understanding” (Eddy, 1906, p.403). But recent financial crises and legal action against the church have generated unprecedented dissent, both inside and outside Christian Science. Examining how church leadership is struggling to address current issues with its 19th century frameworks could be indicative of the future success or failure of the Christian Science movement.
“Jesus Sends Dolphins to Save Cuban Child:” How the Press Played the “God Angle” in the Elian Gonzalez Story • Susan Willey, Florida Atlantic University • This study explores how well journalists report on supernatural religious claims when they insert themselves in a political and foreign policy story. An analysis of press reports of the Elian Gonzalez story reveals that reporters generally ignored the religious angle. When it was covered, journalists failed to question the assertions or provide any critical explanation that would have added depth and context and better understanding of the political power of religion within the Cuban-American community.
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